SHE has been crowned Best Bitch and Villain Of The Year for her menacing portrayal of murderous Janine Butcher in EastEnders, yet Charlie Brooks couldn’t be friendlier in real life.

Her cheery nature also comes in stark contrast to her latest role as a mentally unstable wife and mother in the play Monogamy, which opens next month.

Having played Janine on and off since 1999 – during which time she wreaked havoc in Albert Square with storylines including drug addiction, prostitution and murder – it’s clear that Charlie doesn’t shy away from portraying difficult and complex characters.

Monogamy centres around the life of a famous TV chef, played by Olivier winner Janie Dee.

“The play is an exploration of people and relationships and how all of us are really living in the past or have big anxieties about the future, rather than really living in the present,” Charlie explains.

“And how, by affairs our parents may have had, psychologically, people have grown up messed up.

“It’s a peek behind the door of a celebrity chef and, when the cameras stop rolling, what’s going on with her life – with her past and her relationships with her son and husband and her builder, Graham, my [stage] husband, who she’s having an affair with.

“My character Sally is exhausted, she is medicated. She has got an autistic child who she really struggles with on her own and is housebound most of the time. And so it’s her on the verge of a breakdown and her past is very much full of grief, having lost her twin brother.

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“She’s completely opposite to anything else I’ve ever played, in that she’s very unassuming and shy and self-conscious and kind. She ultimately wants to save her marriage and her life. It sounds so dark, doesn’t it? But mental health needs to be addressed and it’s an illness like anything else. Hopefully, people will start to be more open about it.”

Despite recent reports to the contrary, Charlie, who is mum to 13-year-old daughter Kiki, says she has no current plans to return to EastEnders but is not ruling it out. Instead, she has been focusing on stage roles – even though she has struggled with first-night nerves.

“That was a conscious decision because I’ve always wanted to do more theatre and I couldn’t really do it when I was in EastEnders,” the 36 year old reveals.

“Being in control of your own fate on the stage is exhilarating because it’s live and it’s instant and I like exploring different things. I feel quite free on stage, weirdly. Even though on the first night, I would literally rather be run over by a bus than go out there. I’m terrified but it’s all right, you have to work with it. And, in fact, it will work quite well with this character. I will just have to use the emotion.”

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Charlie as Janine Butcher in EastEnders

Charlie, who has also appeared in the BBC adaptation of Bleak House, was praised for her stage role as Blanche in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire in 2015.

She says it’s been her toughest role to date, musing, “It’s quite a feminist play, ultimately. I was a bit of a nervous wreck but it was one of the most rewarding things that I’ve done. It was potentially one of the scariest moments of my entire life.”

Worse than childbirth? “Yes, I’d rather give birth. It was terrifying but thrilling. It was extraordinary. But a mountain to climb every day.”

What with her success in the theatre, does she miss playing EastEnders’ Janine? “Yeah, I always think about what she could be up to, what might she be doing,” Charlie ponders.

“I loved her. She was like a million different characters all in one. I had a lot of fun with her.”

Speaking about a possible return to EastEnders, she says, “It was in the press but I just said what I always say, ‘Who knows what the future holds and I’d never say never.’ I loved playing Janine. It’s a bit like going home – the idea of going back there, but there is no talks of it at the moment.”

Charlie continues, “I would like to do some more TV this year and I would really like to play a real character, such as Rose West, or something extraordinary like Game Of Thrones. I love the challenge of something different every time.”

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Charlie's daughter may be following in her mother's footsteps

Following so many allegations of sexual harassment in the entertainment industry as well as the exposure of the huge gender pay disparity, are these issues which have affected her? Has she ever experienced a gender pay gap?

“I don’t think so. But, obviously, everything should just be equal and the gender pay gap needs to be addressed. Thankfully, I have never experienced any sexual harassment in my acting career,” she says.

Charlie left home at 13 to pursue her dreams and to attend drama school, moving from Barmouth, Wales, to London. Her daughter Kiki, a budding actress, is now following in her footsteps.

“Kiki’s just started boarding at school, so we’re seeing how that goes at the moment,” she reveals.

“The school isn’t close to where I live but my best friend is head of the drama department there, so it’s not like we threw her into the abyss. She’s always said, ‘I’d love to go to Auntie Kate’s school,’ so we’re just giving it a whirl and I think it’s working out really well.

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“But, honestly, it’s hit me a bit harder than I thought it would the last couple of months because I wasn’t working for the last eight weeks. I was at home and felt really redundant and really missed her. It is hard but I know she’s thriving at school and loves it. I see her at weekends and I go down midweek and she stays at my friend’s house. I find I’m always justifying it when I talk about her going to boarding school.”

Charlie adds, “She’s such a drama queen, though. She absolutely wants to be an actress and she’s very good at it. And I encourage her to do whatever she wants to do. I had such incredibly supportive parents, so I couldn’t imagine not supporting her.

“Motherhood does change you a lot. What’s really hard is them getting older. Saying goodbye to your little girl is a bit like mourning,” Charlie admits.

“But it’s also exciting and new. You wake up one day and it’s this new person there going through their teens and trying to navigate that and help them. There’s a clash of personalities sometimes, which happens. It’s difficult to know that you’re doing the right thing and making the right decisions but I love being a mum.”

Charlie, who lives in Surrey, says she is on very good terms with her ex-fiancé and Kiki’s dad, Ibiza events organiser Tony Truman.

She tells us, “He lives above me when he’s not in Ibiza. We’re just family at the end of the day. The split was amicable, so there were no big hurts in the relationship and we still really get on. His family and my family go on holiday together.

“I think I was influenced by my mum and dad. My dad’s remarried and they go on holiday with my mum and her husband, so I think I subconsciously took their lead.”

Was it “conscious uncoupling”, coining the term used by actress Gwyneth Paltrow to refer to her friendly split with Chris Martin?

“Yeah, that’s what they call it now, isn’t it? This was 12 years ago, though, so we were so ahead of Gwynnie and Chris,” she adds. Is Charlie dating now?

“I’m not. That’s about as far as my love life goes. I don’t often meet people. I’m sure someone wonderful will come in to my life soon.”

Her upbeat nature helped her win the hearts of viewers to clinch the winning crown on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2012 and 2011’s Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special, too. Does she think she’s a naturally positive person?

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“I would say so, yes. I think I’m quite good in difficult situations, just keeping everything together and getting on with it.”

She adds, “I went on I’m A Celebrity… knowing that I’m not a bitch, so I wasn’t worried about coming across like Janine.”

Charlie now says she would like to participate in a full series of Strictly Come Dancing. Is she still dancing? “No, only around my kitchen at one in the morning,” she giggles.

Charlie’s next challenge is climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for breast cancer charity Second Hope.

“I lost one of my best friends two years ago to breast cancer.

She had it for 10 years,” she explains.

“It just makes you feel how precious life is and how quickly it can be taken away from you. You have to make the most of every opportunity and be absolutely present in the moment.”